Tag Archives: Toronto Star

Tuesday's links: food science, produce & ice cream, live in the moment.

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Food science:

  • In addition to the hormones in our drinking water, now it’s been discovered that artificial sweeteners are left behind too. At least, in Germany. [Disease Proof]
  • Liquid smoke is safer to ingest than untreated wood smoke. That and other facts about liquid smoke. [Slashfood]

Food and vegetable:

  • What is the difference between “100% organic” and “organic”? How do we know “organic” truly reflects our beliefs? Do food companies use the word “organic” in the same way they use “health”? Which is worse: eating nonorganic produce full of pesticides or not eating produce at all? Is organic food nutritionally worth its higher cost? Aren’t organics elitist? Marion Nestlé answers these questions. [SFGate]
  • The journey of a California strawberry to a plate in Toronto. [Toronto Star] We should all be locavores when the food items are in season and as I’ve mentioned in my blog previously, I refuse to eat imported berries.

Local/local media:

  • Mark McEwan’s new grocery store in the Shops at Don Mills. [City News]
  • Why Corey Mintz doesn’t order salads at restaurants. [Toronto Star] He’s right on, although so is the commenter who suggested that very good or very bad salads should be commented on.
  • The Toronto Star found that five out of 14 soft-serve ice creams bought from trucks and stores across the city had high levels of bacteria.

Misc.:

  • Not completely food related but a beautiful list from detox expert Natalia Rose called My Top 10 List For an Outstanding Life Experience. I like “Cancel any old stories and programs that are not part of your truth today.” because old stories are very much a part of my own psyche and I try to be conscious of it and live in the moment.

Tomorrow (June 24) is National Pralines Day (see my Food Holidays post from yesterday).

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June 1 link round up. On June 1.

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  • Another study linking soy to breast cancer. This one claims that high intakes of soy during adolescence may reduce the risk of breast cancer before the menopause by about 40 per cent. [Nutraingredients.com]
  • Consuming cheese from ewe’s milk, rich in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), may decrease chance of heart disease [Nutraingredients-usa.com]
  • Junk food commercials in countries such as Canada and the U.K have been banned during kids’ television for awhile but a new study says that many commercials aren’t actually getting banned. [Disease Proof]
  • Ever see the sweetener Xylitol on an ingredient list and wonder what it is? [Dr. Mercola]
  • On taxing soft drinks/beverages that can contribute to obesity. [Globe and Mail]
  • I like how Corey Mintz describes the Risotto at Harbord Room. As well, I appreciate that it’s descriptive without sounding contrived like Gina Mallett’s prose (that’s one of the nicest things I’ve ever said about Mallett).

Risotto can often taste as redundant as the double-tap, scene change music from Law & Order (“thump thump”). Here, it surprises like a Stravinsky beat, a shock of vibrant spring in Toronto.

Then he goes on to reveal how to achieve a brightly coloured risotto and comments on capturing the flavour of the vegetable that went in. I’ve been wanting to go to the Harbord Room for awhile. [Toronto Star]

  • Not food related, but I felt it important to include: The 20 Cancer Symptoms Women Are Most Likely to Ignore [mercola.com]

**
Tomorrow: A post about cookies.

Friday's links.

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(Same day for a change. W00T!)

  • Overweight Moms More Likely to Have Asthmatic Kids [HealthDay]
  • Multivitamins Might Prolong Life [HealthDay] (But they’re not a replacement for a healthy diet, of course)
  • Orange juice shelf-life may be extended by natural chitosan [FoodNavigator]
  • Illustrated Guide to Steak Cuts, Plus Grilling Tips [Serious Eats]
  • Corey Mintz on how he choses restaurants to review. [Toronto Star]

Looking forward to the opening of the Brickworks farmer’s market tomorrow!

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Link round up

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Meant to post this yesterday but got busy with family visits, enjoying the weather and freelance work:

  • Egg Substitutions in Cookies and Brownies [The Kitchn]
  • (U.S. news) Tax junk food, but also subidize veggies [Grist.com]
  • The Kitchn asks, What’s in Your Snack Drawer (at the Office)? My collection:
    • An assortment of teas, including – but not only – Stash Tea (also follow them on Twitter) in Sushi Bar Green Tea and lemon ginger herbal tea, Turkey Hill Maple Herbal tea (though I don’t like the taste and the box gives off a strong odour), what I think are rooiboss tea bags, and Yerba Mate.
    • A can of tuna
    • A can of baby corn
    • Seasoned nori strips
    • A bottle of walnut oil
    • Peruvian granola bars (“Energia Inka”) with ingredients listed as “wheat pop, kiwicha pop (Amaranth), Wheat, Oats, Maca, Quinoa, Raisin, Chestnut, Coconut, Benne, Honey, Milk and spices”. I don’t know what all those are and I don’t like the taste. I’m guessing this is Maca, aka “Peruvian ginseng”. A little research indicates that by “benne” they might mean “sesame”.
    • One and a half Lara Bars
    • Mary’s Organic Crackers Sticks & Twigs (pretzel sticks) in chipotle tomato.
  • Loblaws to Source 100 Percent Sustainable Seafood [Progressive Grocer - thanks to Dana for the link via Twitter.]
  • The plastics industry is warning consumers that reusable fabric grocery bags can create a health risk because they can become contaminated with fungus and bacteria if not properly washed. [Toronto Star and City News]
  • New Fling chocolate bar from Mars. NPR asks, “is this hyper-feminine, hyper-sexualized marketing coming on too strong?” Good god, what’s wrong with subtlety? I find that sort of marketing kind of gross.
  • The environmental case (no pun intended) for local beer. [Treehugger]

…less knowledgeable, or perhaps even unscrupulous pickers may be destroying the future of this wonderful crop. Picking a wild leek means picking the entire plant, with no means of regeneration next year.

  • “A gastronome who is not an environmentalist is stupid. An environmentalist who is not a gastronome is boring.” Treehugger has covered Carlo Petrini’s recent Toronto visit. I found my first set of notes, which I hadn’t thrown out but instead had tucked inside my copy of Marion Nestle’s Food Politics. Will update my related post but it turns out that most of the good material came from what he said after I changed paper anyhow.
  • Today (May 22) is National Vanilla Pudding Day. Tomorrow (May 23) is National Taffy Day.
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On Mintz and Men

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[I began this post at 5pm, had to abandon it unfinished at 6:47 to get my butt to seder that was to begin at 7 but didn't begin until 8, and finished after.]

[April 9, 3:10pm: Edited to make it a bit shorter.]

I apologize in advance for the length, because I generally don’t have the patience to read anything that’s this long.

Occasionally I read something that makes me smack my head with disbelief, as in, “I can’t believe he/she wrote that.” I wasn’t going to post about this. I wasn’t going to comment on Corey Mintz’s  article in last Saturday’s Toronto Star about an unconventional passover seder. I first noticed it in Taste T.O.’s weekly Saturday feature In the Papers (April 4). I starred the Taste T.O. post in Google Reader, unsure if I wanted to read about it again, post about it, or go there in general. It seemed like an article I had to bookmark. So, I thought “Mintz, you ass.” and moved on. I wasn’t going to address it here.

Sometimes I begin comments in response to blog posts and find that that they’ve become opinion pieces or diatribes.  Well, that sort of lead me to this post, except that I wasn’t commenting to a blog post.

Another fact about me (one was revealed on Monday): I briefly worked in radio a couple of years ago. While between careers around 2003 (?),  and then on a casual part time basis through 2008, I worked for Rogers Broadcasting, which owns Jack FM, CHFI, 680 News and The Fan 590 in Toronto. One of the first people I met there was  Maurie, who had been a producer on Jack FM’s morning show until the station went to a DJ-free format.

Maurie is my Facebook network. and today he posted audio of an interview that he did with Dave Trafford at CFRB 1010 earlier today, an interview which he was recruited to do in response to Corey’s article.  A lot of Jews listen to Newstalk. I grew up listening to CFRB in the car when Andy Barrie was still on air there (now I listen to him every morning on CBC). The interview is not on CFRB’s website nor do I know if it will be.  Maurie posted it as a video link. It may or may not be accessible to you. It may or may not be copyright infringement.

The interview with Maurie and CFRB’s Jessica Baker was good. Their messaging was basically, “The seder is mostly about family, we enjoy the family time and the festival meal, we don’t have the patience to read through the whole book beginning to end, we count the pages until the part that says we eat and then we’re done.” Pretty consistent with my experience and that of most people I know. One friend’s family reenacts the plagues with masks and toys, which I think is awesome, and tomorrow I’ll be at a seder hosted by two friends, one of whom is a rabbi, and I’ve been informed that there will be lots of discussion going late into the night. Lots of wine too.

So, Corey’s article…

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Wednesday link roundup.

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  • 7 thing to know about Nitrites in your Luncheon Meats. [Fooducate]
  • An awesome post and comments that I flagged to read “later” last week: Serious Heat: Taming the Chile Fire The accompanying photo is gorgeous. [Serious Eats]
  • The 10 Most Disgusting Delicacies to Try Before You Die. WARNING: Contains images. Not for the faint of… anything. I started reading it but couldn’t continue. Duck fetus is on the list. Really. And a bat that can kill you if you eat it. This is way worse than the blowfish, kids. [Culinary Schools.org]
  • Formulating cakes with sesame oil, hydrocolloids and emulsifiers could replace fat in cakes, leading to low-fat alternatives of family favourites, suggests a new study.  [Food Navigator]
  • Who has the freshest candy? Walmart, that’s who. Researchers at Brock University looked at the age of candy bars in eight major retail stores. Results: the average bar was 140 days old.  [Financial Post]
  • The Toronto Star on the 8 street vendors approved to broaden the definition of “street meat” in Toronto. Includes a diagram [pdf] of what will be served and where. The Globe and Mail on the same issue, and I include Taste T.O.’s commentary here too because I always like Greg’s snark.
  • The Appetizer wants to know what you think is the Best Sandwiches in Canada [National Post]

Links from the last week

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I’ve been lazy so some of these are almost a week old…

  • More Mark Bittman on NPR: Recipes From Mark Bittman’s Food Matters and audio interview.
  • A field of wasabi. Did you know that it was a plant that grows? I didn’t. Had I thought about it I might have realized it.
  • Pumpkin cheesecake with a ginger-pecan crust? Yes, please. It’s not something I’d likely make (I always feel that one needs a stand mixer to make cheesecakes although this recipe uses a blender) but if anyone wants to make one I’m more than happy to be a tester.
  • Cupcakes and beer? I made cupcakes with Guinness in the summer – the ones with salted caramel frosting. Here’s another cupcake recipe that calls for Guinness. The frosting uses Baileys.
  • CBC‘s Spark asks, Does your laptop double as a recipe book? Mine has started to. I owned my laptop for over a year before it occurred to me to take it into the kitchen. Instead was I was doing was either running back and forth between my desktop computer in my bedroom/office and the kitchen, or scrawling down recipes in a notebook and taking that into the kitchen.
  • Obamas Bring Their Chicago Chef to the White House. Story here.
  • A US study has found that perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), which are used in areas such as food packaging, pesticides, clothing, carpets and personal care products, may be linked to infertility in women. Report.
  • In Saturday’s Toronto Star Corey Mintz writes about catering his grandmother’s shiva in an article called “Say goodbye, and pass the smoked meat“. I was touched. My eyes misted a little. Do his articles usually generate that response? (Restaurant reviews don’t count.)  I bet a lot of the feedback he got to the story was from Jewish mothers and grandmothers asking him if he’s single, and “I have a daughter/granddaughter…” I wouldn’t be surprised if my mother thought it. :)
  • In Saturday’s National Post Alison Broverman writes home about summer camp food. Oh, the memories. My memories of Camp Wahanowin don’t include traditional Shabbat dinner, but the memories are scarce and I have no doubt that we had them. I definitely don’t recall Smartiefried oatmeal.
  • Men Smell Like Cheese, Women Smell Like Onions? This according to Slashfood and the Telegraph.  Aren’t little girls made of sugar and spice and everything nice while little boys are made of Snips and snails, and puppy-dogs’ tails? (Wikipedia on that nursery rhyme.)
  • Apartment Therapy is disappointed that Jamie Oliver’s magazine is only available on newsstands in the UK and that the price for US subscribers is around $64. Bonus news item: According to an advertisement on that page, Elisha Cuthbert is making an appearance on Project Runway Canada tonight, on Global Television.  Chris didn’t mention this in his Televisualist column this week.  I don’t watch Project Runway, nor do I have cable. However, I read all of Chris’ Televisualist columns and watch the Gilmore Girls clips that he posts on his blog every friday.
  • This pleases me:  The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published a list of food products that have been voluntarily reformulated to remove six food colours associated with hyperactivity in young children. Story here.
  • FDA joins criminal investigation into Peanut Corporation salmonella. Story here.

If I blogged more often I’d have fewer links. I should blog more often.

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Links acquired this week, and eating

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Today is 7-11 day (applies to Canada, according to Breakfast Television). Free Slurpees. I’ve learned that there’s a right way and a wrong way to pull a Slurpee. I’ve pulled a few in my life (a literal few) and it seems I’ve done it wrong. Edit at 2:55pm: Hot off the press (posted just under an hour ago), the CBC reports that for the ninth year in a row, a 7-Eleven in Winnipeg, Manitoba (that’s in the Canadian prairies) has sold more Slurpees than any other store in the world. Of the top 10 stores for Slurpee sales in North America, eight of those 10 are from Manitoba.

Around the local newspapers on Wednesday -
From the Globe and Mail:
- Their fetish is fermentation. Foodies are turning to live microbes to aid digestion and ward off disease. The paper version – which I read first – includes a sauerkraut recipe that I can’t find on their website.
- Too good to spit up: feeding toddlers regular food, the way Italians do.

The Niagara Falls Review:
-Eating local food supports local farms and Just add watermelon.

The Toronto Star writes about Mangosteens- which I still want to try, vegan dishes – along with a conversation about honey not being vegan-friendly and sea asparagus – of which I’d never heard and am now curious about.

The Oregonian on lemon curd. Includes recipes. I want to make it and freeze it popsicle-style.

From the blogs…

-The Urban Vegan on 101 fast recipes for inspired vegan picnics.

-I posted a similar link once before, but this one is different: How To Build a Cheap-Ass Grill for Under $10

- Food Words in 2008 version of Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary. The list Includes “pescatarian” (that’s me! – generally) and prosecco (yum). Non food words, as read here, include webinar, fanboy, Texas Hold ’em, jukebox musical and “air quotes” [insert gesture here].
I don’t like the word “webinar” and am slightly surprised that it took so long for “fanboy” to make it.

-I don’t have a grill but I look forward to making a variation (either on the George Foreman Grill or under the broiler) of Grilled Tuna with Mango Dipping Sauce.

-Yesterday Slashfood rsported that FDA rules that high fructose corn syrup is natural and ran an item about cooking with coffee. I want to vegan-ize the coffee chili recipe.

-Apartment Therapy on Maple Sugar. I like all things maple. Yum.

-Chocolate chip cookie fleur de sel on top.

-Slashfood on sourdough starter.
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In personal food news:

Dinner last night was actually a snack, and it was great: Blanched and chilled peas in their shells dipped in sesame ginger salad dressing. I realized yesterday (Thursday) that I still had salad mix, peas and broccoli from my trip to the farmer’s market 8 days prior and so I washed all the lettuce and stored it properly (wrapped up in a dish towel in a big plastic tub) and blanched all the peas. I need to find a use for wilted broccoli. Stir fry or soup, I suppose. As much as I like local lettuce I do enjoy the convenience of the pre-washed stuff. I washed and rinsed the salad many times yesterday and I still wasn’t sure if the water was completely clear. I also have no salad spinner.

I think I need to bake this weekend.

Local tomatoes make this foodiegirl happy

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Farmer’s Market day! After the gym today I wandered through the Annex, past Fringe Festival central and to the new farmer’s market, called My Market. The budget was $20. How did I do?

  • 1 bag of mixed greens (a bigger bag than last week).
  • A big broccoli.
  • Grapes tomatoes, a pint that contained both red and orange (swoon).
  • A pint of strawberries, which I’m told by a colleague have one week left in season. :( According to a list I picked up today (available online here), they’re in season through to the end of July.
  • A pint (?) of Raspberries (swoon), in season through September.
  • Peas

That took me to $20 exactly… until I decided to buy cherries ($4) and a cranberry walnut muffin from the sweet potato lady ($1.50).

It saddens me that asparagus season is only May – June and the markets only open in June. This means one month of asparagus, and I finally found uses for it other than roasting. I saw beets, carrots, cucumber and radishes today. There was a lady selling “farm fresh” eggs and I’d have bought some if I didn’t already have eggs.

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